ODU's Bazemore likely sidelined until December

Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion's top returning player, will undergo surgery Wednesday on a stress fracture in his left foot and is likely to be sidelined until early December.

The 6-foot-5 senior guard suffered the injury last weekend playing in the Hampton Roads 7 Cities Pro-Am League in Norfolk. He told the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot that he felt a "pop" in his foot during a game.

X-rays confirmed a fracture of the fifth metatarsal -- the side of the small toe -- on his left foot. Surgery will be performed Wednesday, when a pin will be inserted into the foot.

A source close to the team said that the injury would prevent Bazemore from starting practice Oct. 14 and pegged his return after Thanksgiving and probably early December.

However, Coach Blaine Taylor said, "I really think that it's fool's gold to get too exact on timelines. Obviously, it's going to be a period of days, weeks and some months, but I think we're getting way ahead of ourselves trying to predict how quickly someone's going to heal or how soon they're going to play."

Bazemore is ODU's leading returning scorer, at 12.3 points per game. He was the CAA's Defensive Player of the Year last season and a second-team all-conference pick.

Without Bazemore, senior center Chris Cooper is the lone returning starter from last year's NCAA tournament team that finished 27-7.

"From our team, there hasn't been a whole lot of response (to the injury)," Taylor said. "Everybody's pretty matter-of-fact. For us, it's just kind of steady as she goes, with all the other guys.

"The thing that I'm expecting is that other players and younger players to have to step up to the plate and take their turn at bat. There's probably going to be even a little more opportunity for that. Then, when we get Kent back, we'll blend him in at the appropriate time."

The Monarchs' other available guards are seniors Marquel De Lancey and Trian Iliadis, redshirt freshman Dimitri Batten (Kecoughtan) and freshman Breon Key (Phoebus). Sophomore guard Donte Hill, a transfer from Clemson, will be eligible after the first semester.

"We are a team that I think is going to get better from day one to the end of the season, for a variety of reasons," Taylor said. "One, we're going to get players back, like Kent, like Donte Hill; we'll be adding players as we go. We're also going to get the experience for individual players and development. Then, we're also going to get experience and development as a team through the games. So I think it's really going to be a fun year to just watch us grow as we experience things and adding pieces to the puzzle as we grow."